If your food is starting to lose its smell, it could be a warning that the grim reaper is approaching. Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered that the inability to identify scents – leather, fish, rose, orange and peppermint – is a predictor of death within five years. In their study, more than 3,000 people from their mid-50s to their mid-80s were put through a smell test. Almost 20% could identify only two or three smells, and some 3.5% got none right. Five years later, 430 of the participants had died. Once age, gender and socio-economic status had been taken into account, a failing sense of smell was found to triple a person’s risk of death. However, British experts stressed that much more research is needed to confirm the link. (The Economist).

Sniff. Right. More research needed. I lost my sense of smell many years ago. It’s a nuisance and detracts the joy of good meals, but I am (maybe temporarily) very much alive. Wary Epicureans will probably agree that, while science can be wonderful, it can also sometimes come up with silly things. The Economist hasn’t told us what time of year they did their survey. Could the Participants have had colds or cat allergies?